Who Is The HQ Trivia Host? Scott Rogowsky Also Starred In A 2016 Viral Prank

Thanks to hundreds of thousands of trivia-hungry (not to mention cash-prize-hungry, ahem) mobile gamers, Scott Rogowsky — who is the host of HQ Trivia, the breakout smartphone app — has become nothing short of an Internet personality. But, as the oddball comedian's OG enthusiasts already know, this isn't Rogowsky's first rodeo. Before he became the goofy-grinned face of new-age Jeopardy (HQ Trivia is the gusto of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" meets the accessibility of Pokémon GO), Rogowsky starred in a viral YouTube video called "Fake Book Covers on the Subway."

As its title suggests, the real-life social experiment turned online sensation (which Rogowsky initially filmed as part of a series he'd been churning out for Playboy) centers on Rogowsky — a.k.a. "Reading Train Bro" — reading a clever array of "fake books" on the New York City subway. His claim to fame? An impressively realistic (or, alarmingly realistic, depending who you ask) adult-themed hard cover book jacket with an equally risque title, which Rogowsky whipped out amid a packed train car one morning in April 2016.

To that, Rogowsky responded with a "Park Two" video. Same concept, with the addition of a few new pranksters fake reading fake books of their own. And while Rogowsky's made-up titles still retained an air of foolishness (See: 10,000 Dick Pics), his undercover subway counterparts managed to sneak a bit of pithy social commentary into theirs. Namely, the totally straight-faced woman peering over a fake dictionary-sized book called "Ever Been With A Black Girl?"

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Rogowsky took "relevant social commentary" one step further in early 2017, barely two months post-Trump election, when he released yet another "Fake Book Covers" installment with an "unpresidented" twist. In an ever-so-timely Trump-themed edition to the "Fake Book Covers" saga, Rogowsky took to the subway once again with a relentlessly sharp new group of titles, including: How to Succeed in Business Without Paying Your Contractors and Prejudice and Prejudice, by Mike Pence.

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But, ever since Rogowsky first "finger-gunned" his way onto the mobile scene as HQ Trivia host extraordinaire, he is less known as "vaguely inappropriate literary pun master" and more as the digital celebrity of the moment — at least, as far as smartphone users are concerned.

Now, at approximately 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST (on most days), Rogowsky plays God to hundreds of thousands of digital gamers, poised to whip out their trivia wits during a rapid-fire, 14-minute competition that touts a lofty cash prize reward to its winners. Rogowsky is among a team of HQ Trivia hosts, but he is quickly becoming the fan favorite.

Not bad for a quirky comedy "bro" who got his start in the comments section of a Reddit thread.